London Tower Bridge A Must Do Tour

Tower Bridge London was first opened to the public on the 30th of June 1894, which makes it almost 117 years old. It is hard to imagine that when the bridge was first built it was described as being an absurd structure by the Victorian artist Frank Brangwyn. Another insane artist!

When tourists come to London they will have their little, I should say a big list of places to visit and Tower Bridge will undoubtedly be on every list! It is after all one of the most famous landmarks in not only London but the world. Even though some people think it is actually London Bridge they are looking for!

A mistake, a BIG mistake that many tourists make and even Londoners for that matter is that they come to the bank of the River Thames and look at the icon that is Tower Bridge. And perhaps walk across it! Only a small percentage of people actually pay the few measly quid admission fee and visit the Tower Bridge Exhibition. This is crazy! If you are struggling for money skip lunch!

I can’t understand why tourists wouldn’t want to walk inside the bridge, to learn about its history and to take in those amazing views from the high level walkways. The last time I visited the exhibition it cost me 8 quid for a combined ticket, which enabled me to visit Tower Bridge and the Monument. That is a bargain if you ask me!

London Tower Bridge A Few Facts:

Type of Bridge – combined Bascule bridge and Suspension bridge;

Total length – 244 metres.

Longest span – 61 meters.

Clearance below the bridge when closed 8.6 metres.

When the Bridge is open the clearance is 42.5 meters.

The two towers are 65 meters high.

The pedestrian walkways are 44 meters above the river at high tide.

The total cost of construction was £1,184,000 which is the equivalent of £100 million in today’s money.

The style of the bridge is Victorian Gothic.

I wrongly assumed that Tower Bridge was named so because…well isn’t it obvious, it has two towers. However seemingly 16 years before the bridge was built it was referred to as Tower Bridge. The Bridge actually takes its name from its location, which is Tower Hamlets on the North Side.

Don’t just look at the icon, go and enjoy the Tower Bridge Exhibition and get into the heart and soul of one of the most famous landmarks in the world. You will not regret it!

When I was up there the last time round the windows for taking photos were perched so high up that I had some trouble inserting my camera through the slits (I’m almost midget by Western European standards). Is that still the case?

The exhibition turned out better than I expected. Enjoyed the different proposal for the bridge when the tender was up for grabs. I must say that the present design weren’t the most avant garde of all.